India, China decide not to let "differences" affect overall ties

Published: Thursday, August 18, 2016, 9:34 [IST]

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Beijing, Aug 17: India and China have had "candid" exchange of views on some "specific issues" and they agreed not to let the "differences" affect their overall ties as they vowed to resolve the issues through dialogue and consultation, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday (Aug 17).

"Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited India just before the G20 Hangzhou Summit and the 8th BRICS leaders meeting, with the main purpose of having strategic communication with India," the ministry said.

"The most important consensus reached by the two sides during the visit was that the two agreed to support each other in making" both the summits a "success", the ministry said in a written response to a question from PTI on Wang's visit.

Besides visiting Goa to see arrangements for the BRICS, (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit which is due to take place there in October, Wang held talks with his counterpart Sushma Swaraj on August 13 in New Delhi and called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"The two sides also had candid exchange of views on some specific issues emerging in the course of exchanges between China and India," it said.

"Both (sides) agreed that the two countries have far more common interests than differences, far more aspects of cooperation than competition, and thus should place specific differences at a proper position in bilateral relations so as not to impact the overall friendliness," it said.

"Meanwhile, the two sides should continue to work on solutions to specific problems through dialogue and consultation," it said, apparently referring to differences over India's admission to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and listing Masood Azhar, the head of the Pakistan-based terrorist group Jaish-e-Muhammad, as a terrorist by the UN.

"The most important consensus reached by the two sides during the visit was that the two have agreed to support each other in making the G20 Hangzhou Summit and the BRICS leaders meeting in Goa a success, in a bid to enhance cooperation and solidarity among developing countries and elevate the status of emerging markets in global governance," it said.

"The two sides reiterated that they attach great importance to developing bilateral relations, and believe that the mainstream of China-India relationship is good, and that the two sides should bear in mind the larger picture of friendly cooperation between the two countries, press firmly ahead with pragmatic cooperation and build a closer China-India partnership of development," it said.